Parent Action Group for Education (PAGE) president Noor Azimah Abdul Rahim said the group has always advocated for greater autonomy and decentralisation instead of a one-size-fits-all approach.
She told FMT that district education offices could be empowered to decide when to reopen schools since the environment should be similar throughout a district. Even better would be to allow individual schools to decide when to reopen.
She suggested that schools without Form 6 students could allow Form 4 and 5 pupils to return, while those schools whose staff and teachers have been fully vaccinated should just open immediately.
“In view of the fact that we have had the longest school closure in the world and therefore learning loss, we should attempt to reopen as quickly as possible.
“Schools that are confident to reopen should be allowed to do so rather than wait for their turn. Schools know the local situation and their students and parents better.
“A dangerous assumption by the education ministry is that online learning has been successful and that every student has accessibility,” she said.
Noor Azimah also said parents should not underestimate their “parental instincts” should they feel that it is unsafe to allow their children to return to school.
She welcomed the ministry’s decision not to penalise children who do not turn up when their school reopens. “Give parents the option to choose but do not reprimand them if they don’t. Some learning can still take place at home if parents are diligent about it.”
Think again, Sarawak officials are urged
Sarawak Teachers Union president Adam Prakash Abdullah said the education ministry and Sarawak disaster management officials should reassess the situation in the state.
Yesterday, a record-high of 5,291 new Covid-19 cases were reported in Sarawak. He said the union would prefer that schools in Sarawak were kept closed for the safety of students.
“We are not against the reopening of schools, but will not be a party to forcing students and teachers to return while the situation is still unsafe,” he said.
Earlier today, education minister Radzi Jidin said schools will remain closed in states under Phase 1 and most in Phase 2 of the national recovery plan.
Those in Phases 3 and 4 will reopen in stages; classes will be split in half, with each group to attend school on a rotation basis so that class capacity would always remain at 50%.
NUTP tells of teachers under stress
Some exceptions have been made to schooling in Phase 2 states. Examination students and as well as pupils of special needs schools will be able to attend preparatory classes without rotation in all states.
National Union of the Teaching Profession secretary-general Wang Heng Suan said the union had raised four matters with the minister at a recent meeting, including the need to encourage about 2,500 teachers to be vaccinated.
He said they had also spoken of the need for guidelines for teachers and students who do not want to be vaccinated when schools reopen, and for schools to be allowed to manage their own closures at the end of the schooling term in January or February.
Another issue raised was the stress that teachers faced in conducting online lessons. he said.